The phoenix of Chinese legend is a symbol of heaven's favour, virtue and grace, luck and happiness. It is worshipped as one of four spiritually endowed, sacred, creatures presiding over China's destinies. The four animals; dragon, tiger, unicorn (or deer) and phoenix are called 'si ling' in Chinese, but with the passage of time, animals such as the snake and the turtle were added to this group of animals to be worshipped. The Shang ritual cups and bronze decorations of the Western Zou period, of 3,000 years ago, depict the images of five animals often repeated: the lion, the fish, the deer, the dragon and the phoenix.

Like the dragon and ky-lin, with which the phoenix is always associated, it symbolizes the union of yin and yang, peace and disharmony and like the dragon, the phoenix is also made up of elements, typifying the entire cosmos of the six celestial bodies; it has the head of a cock which symbolises the sky (the eyes, the sun); the back of a swallow as the crescent moon; its wings are the wind; its tail represents the planets (trees and flowers); and its feet are the earth. The Chinese phoenix was thought to have a large bill, the neck of a snake, and the tail of a fish. It represents the element of fire and its season in summer and drought.

One of the Guardians of the Four Directions (Japan)
Mortal Enemy of Serpents and Dragons
Often depicted together with the Dragon

Feng, the Chinese phoenix,

had the head of a pheasant, the tail of a peacock, the Five Cardinal Virtues inscribed on its body, and the most enchanting song of any bird. Feng was associated with the primordial forces of the heavens and was also the bringer of good fortunes, and visions of the phoenix god were were omens of great luck in the near future. Long (Dragon, East, Water) and Feng (Phoenix, South, Fire) are most often depicted as enemies because of their opposing elements (water and fire). Several Chinese folktales center around the clash between the phoenix and the dragon. However, they're also depicted as partners. Long is the male counterpart to the female Feng, and together they can symbolize both conflict and wedded bliss.

Looking for PHOENIX in Asian Art, I found a lot of interesting pieces, some of which I copied to my Photo Album. Have a look. The Phoenix Hall and other things later in the album will be explained below. Don’t forget to come back here.

Quote from JAANUS, Japanese Architecture
Phoenix Hall.
The Hoooodoo is the central hall *chudoo 中堂 of the Byoodooin 平等院, built in 1053 as a villa in Kyoto by the Fujiwara family, but later transformed into a temple for the worship of Amida Buddha. The entire plan of the Hoooodoo is symmetrical, and repesents a phoenix ready to fly. The central hall is 3×2 bays (14.24m) wide, has a wooden floor, and a hip and gable roof. The roof is crowned with two guilt-bronze statues of phoenix birds. Wing corridors on each side of the central hall have 6 bays in the ridge direction and two bays on each end, about 3.94m wide, extend forward at right angles towards a pond. Additional structures with double roofs are placed on the corners where corridors change direction. The top roof on each of these corner structures is pyramidal hoogyoo yane 方形屋根. The corridors are double storied with a simple gable roof covered with tile *hongawarabuki 本瓦葺. The rear corridor which extends from the back of the central hall is seven bays long by one bay wide, and like the rest of the building has a tiled, gable roof. The pillars on the outside surrounding the central hall are square, while all other pillars are circular. The central hall has a pent roof placed around the core of the hall, but at the center front the roof has been raised so that glimpses of the Amida 阿弥陀 can be seen from across the pond.

The tie beams of the pent roofs are small in comparison to the main pillars of the core of the building, *moya 母屋, which are tall and have three stepped bracket complexes *mitesaki tokyoo 三手先斗きょうwith tail rafters *odaruki 尾垂木. Because the statue of Amida is 4.83m high the central hall had to be made to accomodate its height. The ceiling of the central hall is finely latticed and coffered *kogumi gootenjoo 小組格天井 surrounded by short curved, non supporting members to form a transition to the slightly lower level part of the ceiling. The Amida statue (1053) in the Hoooodoo is the only extant piece by the master sculptor Joochoo 定朝, and is considered the best surviving manifestation of the *wayoo 和様 style in sculpture. See *Joochooyoo 定朝様. The Hoooodoo is also famous for the small carved figures of flying heavenly figures, *hiten 飛天, on the interior walls of the central hall, and the splendid openwork nimbus, *koohai 光背, and canopy, *tengai 天蓋, over the statue.
Hoooo-Doo, Hoo-Do, Hououdou 鳳凰堂http://www.aisf.or.jp/~jaanus/deta/h/hououdou.htm

QuoteReprint on fabric of the artwork seen on the ceiling at Ganshoin Temple, Nagano Prefecture by the famous artist, Hokusai. The phoenix's appearance was said to mark auspicious events, such as the birth or rule of a virtuous emperor or the advent of a great philosopher. It is also said to symbolize virtue and is the sign of the Empress. The legendary phoenix eats only bamboo seeds and will only perch on the branches of the paulownia tree, and by association, those plants are also considered to be lucky symbols.http://www.japanesqueaccents.com/smallhangings/0122.htm

A Silver Duckwing Phoenix cock bird
Phoenix are descendants of the chickens that are seen in Japanese illustrations, which bear tails of 15 to 20 feet or longer. The only breed today that gets a tail of this length is the Onagadori. After the second year, the roosters no longer molt their sickle feathers. To maintain these tails, the birds are kept up on high roosts the way parrots are. Most of the Longtails do partially molt their sickle feathers each year, although individual feathers may be shed only every second or third year. This gene can be selected for, and a careful and longterm breeding project can produce birds with nonshedding tail feathers.

There are many breeds of Longtail fowl in Japan. The one our Phoenix most resembles is the Onagadori, except that the birds in the US rarely get any great length to their tails. There are also Longtail birds with pea combs, which in the US are called Yokohamas. However, this is not the name of any breed in Japan, but merely the port from which the early specimens were shipped out.